The Rodent: Brenda Hoddinott

THE RODENT
Brenda Hoddinott
I-07 BEGINNER: CARTOONS & CRITTERS
In this project, you first sketch Rockys proportions within your drawing space and outline his forms. You then use short thin lines to make his forms look furry and three-dimensional. This drawing relies completely on freehand drawing without the help of drawing tools such as a grid. The following three sections guide you step-by-step through this project: SKETCHING BASIC PROPORTIONS: Your goal is to sketch the shapes of the various parts of Rockys head and body on your drawing paper proportionately correct, in preparation for drawing his outline. OUTLINING A FACE, HEAD, BODY AND LEGS: In this section you redraw Rockys parts with thin neat lines. Keep a pencil sharpener (and sandpaper block if you have one) handy so you can easily keep your pencil points nice and sharp. ADDING FUR WITH SHADING: In this section you first practice drawing fur, and then bring Rocky to life by adding shading to all aspects of his face, head, ears, body, tail and feet. The most common problem encountered by beginners to drawing fur is ending up with rough and messy looking lines. To prevent this problem, keep your pencil sharpener and sandpaper block handy, and make sure the point of your pencil is always sharp. Also, dont rush! Take your time and watch closely the numerous directions in which the lines angle or curve. You need basic drawing supplies including good quality white paper, different grades of graphite pencils (such as 2H, HB, 2B, 4B, and 6B), kneaded and vinyl erasers, and a pencil sharpener. This project is recommended for artists from age 12 to adult, as well as home schooling, academic and recreational fine art educators.
12 PAGES 20 ILLUSTRATIONS
Published by Hoddinott Fine Art Publishers, Halifax, NS, Canada 2004 (Revised 2006)
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SKETCHING BASIC PROPORTIONS

This drawing relies completely on freehand drawing without the help of drawing tools such as a grid. Your goal is to sketch Rockys head and body on your drawing paper proportionately correct, by drawing the various shapes of his individual parts. Proportion is the relationship in size of one component of a drawing to another or others. Shape refers to the outward outline of a form. Basic shapes include circles, squares and triangles. Throughout all the various stages of drawing Rocky, you should constantly double check the proportions of your sketch. Pay close attention to the lengths, angles, and curves of the various lines which outline the different parts of his face, head, body, and legs.
ILLUSTRATION 07-01
1.
Press very lightly with an HB pencil and sketch an oval-shape as Rockys body. Leave space on the left of your drawing space for his head. Make sure you have plenty of room on the right for his long tail. Keep your lines very light so they can be easily erased.
ILLUSTRATION 07-02
2.
Sketch in two lines to form a triangular shape on the lower left of his body to mark the placement of his head. Lightly sketch curved lines on the right to outline the shape of his tail.
3.
ILLUSTRATION 07-03
Note that the tail curves outward and up to the right; the end is higher than the top of his back.
Copyright to all articles, images, text, projects, lessons and exercises within this drawing class belong to Brenda Hoddinott and may not be reproduced or used for any commercial purposes whatsoever without the written permission of Brenda Hoddinott. E-mail bhoddinott@hoddinott.com Web sites http://www.finearteducation.com and http://www.drawspace.com
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4. 5.
Sketch two small U-shapes to mark the placement of his front feet. Add a slightly larger U-shape to identify the location of his back foot.
ILLUSTRATION 07-04
6.
Sketch two upside-down U-shapes as his ears. Take note that the ends of the U-shape on the left are connected to a section of the triangular shape. The other is totally inside the large oval.
ILLUSTRATION 07-05
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7. 8.
Sketch two small circles on his face, one as his nose and the other as an eye. Compare your drawing to mine and fix any areas youre not happy with. Double check the different spaces and the lengths and curves of the various lines which outline his body.
ILLUSTRATION 07-06
OUTLINING A FACE, HEAD, BODY, AND LEGS

In this section you redraw Rockys parts with thin neat lines. Keep a pencil sharpener and sandpaper block handy so you can keep your pencil points sharp. As you draw, dont press too hard with your pencils. Not only do these areas become impossible to touch up, but they also leave dents in your paper. When you try to draw over dents in the paper with a soft pencil (such as a 2B or 6B), they show up as light lines, spoiling the overall appearance of your drawing.
Always place a piece of clean paper under your hand as you draw. Each time you work on a new section, remember to move your paper so its always under your hand. This prevents you from smudging your drawing, and protects the paper from the oils in your skin.
9. 10. Gently pat your entire sketch with your kneaded eraser until all your lines become so faint that you can barely see them. With a very sharp 2B pencil, outline the perimeter of Rockys head, body, and nose with thin neat lines. Watch closely the gentle curves of the various lines that make up his shape. Dont forget to leave an opening in the lower right section of his body to draw his back leg.
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ILLUSTRATION 07-07
11.
Add a neat thin line around the perimeter of his tail (with a freshly sharpened 2B pencil) so it looks more realistic.
ILLUSTRATION 07-08
12.
ILLUSTRATION 07-09
Outline his back leg, foot, and toes.
The various lines curve so as to create the illusion that the leg is closer to the viewer than the body (called overlapping). Also observe how the toes seem to overlap one another.
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13. 14.
With a freshly sharpened 2B pencil, draw the tiny sections of his front feet and toes that are showing. Add the outline of the ear on the left.
ILLUSTRATION 07-10
15. 16.
Draw his other ear and outline his eye with thin neat lines. Refer to the next drawing as you carefully check over your drawing, and then make any changes you feel are important.
ILLUSTRATION 07-11
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ADDING FUR WITH SHADING

When adding shading to a drawing, most artists prefer to work from light to dark. Shading refers to the various shades of gray (values) in a drawing that make drawings look three-dimensional. Values are the different shades of gray created when you draw by varying both the density of the shading lines, and the pressure used in holding various pencils. By drawing your lightest sections first, you can then layer your medium and dark shading on top of your light shading. This layering creates a nice smooth transition between different values. You can make the transition from one value to the next barely noticeable, by drawing the individual lines of your hatching in different lengths. Sometimes a short line, placed inside a space between two other lines, helps make the transition look smoother. The most common problem encountered by beginners to drawing fur is ending up with rough and messy looking lines. To prevent this problem, keep your pencil sharpener and sandpaper block handy, and make sure the point of your pencil is always sharp. Also, dont rush! Take your time and watch closely the various directions in which the lines angle or curve. In this section, you first practice drawing fur, and then bring Rocky to life by adding shading to his face, head, ears, body, tail and feet. The light source in this drawing is from the upper left, which means that the shading is slightly darker on the right and lower right sections of his body. 17. Before you begin shading Rocky, examine the next close-up of a drawing of fur, and take note of all the different lines. The lines vary between thick, thin, long, short, light, and dark. 18. Use your HB pencil and practice drawing lots of different types of short lines using a combination of the following techniques: Vary the density of the lines you draw. Density refers to whether the individual lines are close together or far apart. Vary the pressure used in holding your pencils. For light lines you press very lightly with your pencil. Press harder with your pencil to make darker lines. Vary the lengths and thicknesses of the lines. The lines used to draw realistic fur need to be ragged and uneven.
ILLUSTRATION 07-12
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19.
Add light shading to Rockys face, head, and body. Refer to the next two drawings, use an HB pencil, and read through the following helpful tips before you begin: Keep your pencil point very sharp as you draw. Watch closely the different directions in which the lines curve. Basically the lines seem to follow the contours of the outlines of his body. Observe that the direction of the shading lines on his left ear is different than on his face and head. Draw some lines close together and others farther apart. Press very lightly with your pencil for light lines and apply more pressure to achieve darker lines. Vary the lengths and thicknesses of the lines.
ILLUSTRATION 07-13
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ILLUSTRATION 07-14
ILLUSTRATION 07-15
20.
Use your 2B pencil to add several darker lines around the edges of his cheeks, ears, face, head, feet, and body. Refer to illustrations 07-15 and 07-16. Keep your pencil point very sharp. The graphite is softer in a 2B pencil than an HB and wears down very quickly. Hence, it needs to be sharpened frequently. Use the same techniques you used to shade in the light values, for drawing the individual lines of medium and dark shading.
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ILLUSTRATION 07-16
21.
Use an HB pencil to fill in the inside section of his ear on the right. Take note of the tiny rim of white paper showing on the edge of his ear.
22.
Outline a tiny circle in the upper right section of the eye and nose as highlights. The highlights are left white and help make the eyes and nose look shiny.
23.
Use your 4B or 6B pencil to shade in the eye and nose (leave the highlights white).
ILLUSTRATION 07-17 ILLUSTRATION 07-18
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24.
Add shading to his tail, leaving a lighter section down the center to help make the tail look rounded.
ILLUSTRATION 07-19
25.
Use your HB pencil to add a shadow under Rockys body so he doesnt look like hes floating (or flying)!
The shadow is completely made up of horizontal lines which are all drawn in the same direction and are parallel to one another. 26. 27. 28. Add final touches to your drawing if needed. Sign your name and put todays date on the back of your drawing! Give yourself a huge big hug!
ILLUSTRATION 07-20
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BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY

As a self-educated teacher, visual artist, portraitist, forensic artist, and illustrator, Brenda Hoddinott utilizes diverse art media including graphite, technical pen, colored pencil, chalk pastel, charcoal, cont crayon, and oil paints.
My philosophy on teaching art is to focus primarily on the enjoyment aspects while gently introducing the technical and academic. Hence, in creating a passion for the subject matter, the quest for knowledge also becomes enjoyable.
>Brenda Hoddinott<
Born in St. Johns, Newfoundland, Brenda grew up in the small town of Corner Brook. She developed strong technical competencies with a personal commitment to self directed learning, and the aid of assorted Learn to Draw books. During Brendas twenty-five year career as a self-educated civilian forensic artist, numerous criminal investigation departments have employed Brendas skills, including Royal Canadian Mounted Police and municipal police departments. In 1992, Brenda was honored with a commendation from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in 1994, she was awarded a Certificate of Membership from Forensic Artists International. Her home-based art career included graphic design, and teaching recreational drawing and painting classes. As supervisor of her communitys recreational art department, Brenda hired and trained teachers, and designed curriculum for several childrens art programs. In 1998, Brenda chose to end her eighteen-year career as an art educator in order to devote more time to writing, drawing, painting, and developing her websites. Drawspace http://www.drawspace.com incorporates her unique style and innovative approach to curriculum development. This site offers downloadable and printable drawing classes for students of all abilities from the age of eight through adult. Students of all ages, levels and abilities have praised the simple step-by-step instructional approach. This site is respected as a resource for fine art educators, home schooling programs, and educational facilities throughout the world.
LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT

Drawing for Dummies: Wiley Publishing, Inc., New, York, NY, this 336 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally. The Complete Idiots Guide to Drawing People: Winner of the Alpha-Penguin Book of the Year Award 2004, Alpha - Pearson Education Macmillan, Indianapolis, IN, this 360 page book is available on various websites and in major bookstores internationally.

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THE RODENT

SKETCHING BASIC PROPORTIONS

OUTLINING A FACE, HEAD, BODY, AND LEGS

Outline his back leg, foot, and toes.

ADDING FUR WITH SHADING

BRENDA HODDINOTT - BIOGRAPHY

LEARN-TO-DRAW BOOKS BY BRENDA HODDINOTT

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